20 Aug 2009
Five sector skills councils have launched an initiative to improve access to quality training and development for manufacturing employers in the UK.
As the Manufacturing Skills Alliance, Cogent, Improve Ltd, Proskills, Semta and Skillfast-UK revealed their plan at a House of Lords event with Business and Regulatory Reform Minister Ian Lucas MP.
Five sector skills councils have launched an initiative to improve access to quality training and development for manufacturing employers in the UK.
As the Manufacturing Skills Alliance, Cogent, Improve Ltd, Proskills, Semta and Skillfast-UK revealed their plan at a House of Lords event with Business and Regulatory Reform Minister Ian Lucas MP.
The Manufacturing Skills Alliance Plan has the following priorities:
- To co-ordinate the approach to Labour Market Intelligence so colleges and training providers get clear demand signals including those from green and emerging industries.
- To support development of the UK Talent Plan to provide easier access to skills information and strengthen links with Manufacturing Insight which will promote manufacturing careers.
- To produce a common employer skills offer with measurable and sustainable impact on business performance through programmes such as Business Improvement Techniques (BiT).
- To develop a coherent set of programmes to meet the current and future needs of manufacturing employers and to improve transferability for individuals.
- To adopt a common approach in Higher Education to help increase employer engagement in innovation and knowledge transfer.
- And to support manufacturing through the recession to ensure readiness for the upturn.
Speaking in support of the MSA plan Minister Ian Lucas said: “The Government’s Manufacturing Strategy identified access to skills as one of the five key dynamics that is instrumental in reshaping global manufacturing. A globally competitive advanced manufacturing sector is completely dependent on UK manufacturers having access to the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.”
Leading employer Juergen Maier, Managing Director of Siemens Industry Sector UK, welcomed plans to simplify the skills landscape. He said: “It can be difficult for companies to understand what support is available from where. Despite the recession, skills in Engineering and Science will in the medium term be in short supply. 40% of our engineering workforce is aged over 45. As downsizing prompts early retirements older workers are likely to leave in greater numbers and take their skills with them.
“We need to ensure our existing workforce has the right skills and create a pipeline of talent by stimulating school children’s interest in engineering, science and manufacturing from an early age.”
The Manufacturing Skills Alliance has already started on a number of projects that benefit employers in the manufacturing and processing industries. These include Productivity and Competitiveness programmes which provide training in lean manufacturing, using BiT to improve quality, cost and delivery. The programme pilot saw 14 companies go through the PAC programme, with an average of £93,000 increase in profitability.
The Alliance has been developing new qualifications and new routes into industry such as the new Diplomas and Foundation degrees; is developing smaller, flexible, modular and standards based qualifications that match the way employers actually train their people; is running workshops for Union Learning reps to support their understanding of the available skills support; and is developing best practice in careers guidance.
The Alliance is fully supported by the Trades Unions involved with the five SSCs. Tony Burke, Assistant General Secretary at the Unite the Union who is a member of the Board of Cogent, said: “The workforce of any company is the key asset of any organisation and the employees across the manufacturing industries have contributed to their growth and success through their skills and talents.
“Developing skills is paramount to creating a strong industry base and Unite is rigorously pursuing this agenda. We are working through the Manufacturing Skills Alliance and with employers to ensure a framework where employees develop new skills and gain qualifications that really mean something.”
The sector skills councils have also helped industry and Government make effective training interventions through the Train to Gain campaign and sector compacts, where flexible funding has been negotiated to support and increase the numbers of employers investing in their workforce.
Alex Smith, Managing Director of Alara Wholefoods, a London-based awarding-winning organic muesli producer explained that sector skills council support had been vital in ensuring his company’s growth. He said: “We are a food company, so training in many areas is highly important including safety, hygiene, nutrition, and the environment. As a result of our development investment, Alara’s turnover increased by 18% last year with profits up by 40%.”
For further information please contact Fin Robertson at Consolidated PR on 020 7781 2381 or 07742 090218 (out of office hours). Email: [email protected]
Additional quotes:
Joanna Woolf, Chief Executive of Cogent: “Technologies are emerging that will evolve into the new industries of tomorrow. The Manufacturing Skills Alliance will be a key factor in ensuring that industry engages with the education system to help UK plc stay in step with these growth areas and with new cutting edge discoveries.”
Jack Matthews, Chief Executive of Improve Ltd: “What we are trying to do is put in place systems that better match supply and demand when it comes to skills. It is widely recognised that technology and business practice in manufacturing change and evolve at an astonishing rate, but what is not always considered is the impact this has on the skills of the workforce. We need to get training providers, colleges, universities and government working in harmony with industry so employers always have a ready supply of people with the right skills at the right time and, conversely, to ensure that people working in manufacturing develop flexible skills that can adapt to shifts in demand.”
Terry Watts, Chief Executive Proskills UK: “Having access to the right provision and, where appropriate, funding has been the number one demand from our employers to drive competitiveness and productivity in the process and manufacturing sector.
The Manufacturing Skills Alliance gives us a greater voice and will enable employers to exercise greater leverage to benefit the whole Manufacturing sector. We see the work of the Manufacturing Skills Alliance as critical to influencing Government at all levels, who tend to see Manufacturing as a homogeneous sector, and through this work we plan to get results for the range of employers across the whole of the UK Manufacturing sector. As the collective voice of manufacturers we see the Alliance as a great opportunity now there is a renewed focus on Manufacturing.”
Semta Chief Executive Philip Whiteman: “Manufacturing is still the UK’s life blood - economically and socially. The statistics speak for themselves:
We’re the sixth biggest manufacturing economy in the world, accounting for 3 million jobs and 50% of the UK’s total exports. We invest £10 billion a year in research and development and contribute £160 billion to the UK’s economy - that’s over £50,000 per person employed. At the dawn of a new manufacturing-based economy, we must be ready to support employers with skills that make them more competitive and ready to meet the challenges of advanced manufacturing, green and emerging technologies. ”
Skillfast-UK Chief Executive Linda Florance: “In order to compete in the global market, many UK manufacturers are working at the top end of the market, selling on quality and innovation. To do this effectively, manufacturers need a highly-skilled workforce, but there is still much to be done to create and education and training system capable of meeting manufacturers’ needs. Through this alliance across the manufacturing sectors, we hope we will be able to increase the impetus behind action on skills.”
About the sector skills councils that form the Manufacturing Skill Alliance:
www.cogent-ssc.com
Cogent is the sector skills council for the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymer industries. It is the voice of employers in these sectors and is working with them to create a skills environment that businesses need to be innovative, competent, productive and sustainable.
www.improveltd.co.uk
Improve is the Sector Skills Council for Food and Drink. Improve is taking the lead in driving up skills in the workplace in order to promote higher productivity and stronger competitiveness for UK food and drink businesses in the global market.
www.proskills.co.uk
Proskills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Process and Manufacturing sector. A major contributor to the UK economy, the Process and Manufacturing sector covers Building Products, Coatings, Extractives & Mineral Processing, Furniture, Furnishings & Interiors, Glass & Glazing, Glazed Ceramics, Paper and Printed Packaging, Pulp and paper, Paper and Print industries.
www.semta.org.uk
Semta is the employer-led skills council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies in the UK. The sectors it represents are: Aerospace, Automotive, Bioscience, Electrical, Electronics, Maintenance, Marine, Mathematics, Mechanical, Metals and Engineered Metal Products and Science. Its role is to raise skills levels and competitiveness in the 76,000 companies and 2 million-strong workforce that make up these sectors.
www.skillfast-uk.org
Skillfast-UK is the Sector Skills Council for fashion and textiles, and the voice of 79,000 businesses on skills. Its mission is to ensure that the UK’s education and training system delivers the skills employers need to be competitive.
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